DECEMBER 2023 LABOUR MARKET REPORT

by Jeff Meiusi

The report includes annual rates for the last 10 years, comparing Brantford to surrounding CMAs as well as the provincial and national levels.

Overview from Statistics Canada

Visit the Statistics Canada page for full information.

Employment was virtually unchanged (+0.0%) in December, and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.8%.

The employment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 61.6%, as the population aged 15 and older grew by 74,000 (+0.2%).

Among core-aged men (aged 25 to 54), employment rose by 25,000 (+0.4%). Employment also rose among young women aged 15 to 24 (+13,000; +1.0%) but declined among men aged 55 and older (-27,000; -1.1%).

There were more people employed in professional, scientific and technical services (+46,000; +2.4%), health care and social assistance (+16,000; +0.6%) and "other services" (which includes personal and repair services) (+12,000; +1.5%) in December. There were declines in five industries, led by wholesale and retail trade (-21,000; -0.7%) and manufacturing (-18,000; -1.0%).

Employment increased in four provinces in December, led by British Columbia (+18,000; +0.6%), while it declined in Ontario (-48,000; -0.6%).

Total hours worked rose 0.4% in December and were up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis.

On a year-over-year basis, average hourly wages rose 5.4% (+$1.78 to $34.45) in December, following an increase of 4.8% in November (not seasonally adjusted).

Employment virtually unchanged in December

Employment held steady in December (+0.0%), following little change in November (+25,000; +0.1%) and October (+18,000; +0.1%). Employment growth slowed in the second half of 2023, averaging 23,000 per month, compared with the first six months of 2023, when it averaged 48,000 per month.

The population aged 15 and older in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) grew by 74,000 (+0.2%) in December, on par with the average monthly population growth in 2023 (+79,000 per month). The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—fell 0.2 percentage points to 61.6% in December, the fifth decline in the past six months.

The employment rate has trended down in 2023, as population growth generally outpaced employment gains. In December, the employment rate (61.6%) was down 0.9 percentage points from its recent high of 62.5% recorded in January 2023.

Employment rates decrease in 2023 for core-aged men and women

Employment among core-aged men (aged 25 to 54) increased by 25,000 (+0.4%) in December, following two months of little change. For women in the same age group, employment was virtually unchanged for the third consecutive month.

From January to December, the employment rate fell for the core-aged population, as the rate of population growth for this age group (+2.9%; +446,000) outpaced employment growth (+1.9%; +243,000). For women in this age group, the employment rate fell 0.8 percentage points from a record high of 82.2% in January to reach 81.4% in December. For men aged 25 to 54, the rate declined in the latter half of 2023, down 0.8 percentage points from June (88.2%) to December (87.4%). Despite recent labour market cooling, employment rates remained above the average observed from 2017 to 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, for both core-aged women (+2.1 percentage points) and core-aged men (+0.9 percentage points).

Employment for young women aged 15 to 24 rose by 13,000 (+1.0%) in December 2023, while it was virtually unchanged for young men. From January to December, the employment rate for youth fell more steeply compared with the other major demographic groups. For female youth, the rate was down 4.0 percentage points to 56.7%, while for their male counterparts, it declined 2.1 percentage points to 56.0%. In December, employment rates were below their averages observed from 2017 to 2019 for both female (-2.4 percentage points) and male (-1.4 percentage points) youth.

Employment among men aged 55 and older fell by 27,000 (-1.1%) in December 2023, the first significant decline since February 2023. For women aged 55 and older, employment was little changed for the fourth consecutive month. The employment rates for this age group were similar to those observed at the beginning of 2023 for both men (40.2% in December) and women (30.4% in December).

Unemployment rate holds steady, participation rate declines

The unemployment rate held steady at 5.8% in December. This followed increases in five of the previous seven months; from April to November, the rate rose by 0.8 percentage points. In December, there were 1.2 million unemployed people, an increase of 202,000 (+19.3%) compared with 12 months earlier.

The unemployment rate generally trended up from April to December for all major demographic groups, with the biggest increase among youth aged 15 to 24 (+1.7 percentage points to 11.3%), followed by people aged 55 and older (+1.1 percentage points to 5.0%). For those in the core-aged group of 25 to 54, the unemployment rate was up by 0.5 percentage points over this period for both women (4.7%) and men (5.0%).

The participation rate—the number of employed and unemployed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older—fell in December (-0.2 percentage points) to 65.4%. This was down from a recent peak of 65.7% in June. Most of the decline from June to December was attributable to a drop in the youth participation rate, which decreased 2.1 percentage points to 63.5% over the period. On a year-over-year basis, the labour force participation rate fell 3.3 percentage points to 85.4% among youth who were not attending school, while it declined 1.0 percentage points to 46.4% among youth who were students (not seasonally adjusted).

The participation rate held steady among those in the core-aged group (88.7%) and among people aged 55 years and older (36.9%), compared with June 2023 and compared with December 2022.

Local Top Line

December Unemployment Rate: Brantford 4.3% [+] Ontario 6.3% [+] Canada 5.8% [=]
The local unemployment rate increased by 0.1 month over month.
The local labour force expanded by 500 month over month.
The number of employed increased by 300 month over month.
The number of unemployed increased by 100 month over month.
When compared to the surrounding CMAs of Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo, Guelph, and London, Brantford’s unemployment rate is the lowest.

- Brantford Advantage